In front of the 5 p.m. CT deadline to protect players from Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 draft, the White Sox added RHP Tyler Johnson, 3B Jake Burger and 1B/OF Gavin Sheets to the 40-man roster. The team also announced an acquisition of Diamondbacks right-handed pitcher Emilio Vargas, who started 82 of his last 87 appearances dating back to 2016 and pitched as high as Double-A. Vargas turned 24 years old in August.
Chicago’s 40-man is now full.
Will Kincanon, who just completed his fourth season with the organization, was left off the 40-man roster, making him eligible for the Rule 5 draft on December 10. The freshly turned 25-year-old reliever took a big step forward in his professional career in 2019, as he amassed a 1.86 ERA over 42 appearances and 58 innings during a full stint at Advanced-A Winston-Salem.
Kincanon was not in attendance at the White Sox’ 2020 alternate site in Schaumburg. The right-hander, who spins it in the mid-90s, spent his time away from the team developing a hard slider that evolved from his 12-6, 83 mph curveball. He aims to have that pitch sit consistently at 85-87 mph. As recent organizational talents graduated from their prospect title, Kincanon worked his way on to Jim Callis’ White Sox top 30 list in September.
Despite the encouraging developments out of a player aging into his prime, Kincanon offers risk for teams that would need to keep him on the active roster in order to maintain his rights. It’s a smart play by the White Sox, as they also won’t have to burn one of three valuable option years on Kincanon, as he almost certainly will continue his development in the minor leagues to begin next season.
Johnson, Sheets and Burger are different stories, however.
A fifth round pick in 2017, Tyler Johnson was among the remaining relievers on the White Sox’ 60-man who had yet made their Major League debut in 2020. Had the regular season gone on a bit longer, Johnson would likely find himself on a big league mound. FutureSox Senior Writer James Fox highlighted the 25-year-old’s progression in his latest story:
His stuff improved in Schaumburg and organizational pitching coaches were impressed with Johnson’s repertoire. Tyler throws a four-seam fastball in the 92-96 mph range and touches 98. The pitch doesn’t have a ton of life but creates plane effectively. His secondaries are unreliable, and he’ll need to display a more effective low-80s slider while continuing to develop his changeup. There is some stab and wrist wrap in Johnson’s unconventional delivery, and while some scouts were turned off by it, the White Sox have never had an issue. Johnson posted a 2.27 ERA in his first three pro seasons with 169 strikeouts in 115 innings while holding opponents to an average of .197. He’s definitely a candidate to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft if Chicago leaves him unprotected.
Johnson is Major League ready and good teams find ways to build bullpens creatively. The right-handed reliever was too much of a risk to leave off the 40-man roster, suggesting as well that 2021 will present him an opportunity to debut at the game’s highest level.
Position players are valued a bit differently. Although, this is a unique case for the White Sox, as their first and second round draft picks of 2017 were eligible for the Rule 5. In the Sox’ case, there would be too much to lose had they decided to leave Jake Burger and/or Gavin Sheets off the 40-man.
Burger has made major strides over the last two years. He was set to begin his 2020 season at a full-season minor league affiliate, but instead participated in the CarShield Field Collegiate League to get live reps. Burger then transitioned to Schaumburg where he continued his development under the watchful eye of Major League coaches.
In August, the 24-year-old told reporters, “I honestly feel better defensively now than I did prior to the draft almost just because of the quick movement stuff I did with tennis. I feel like I can play almost anywhere they put me. Maybe not center field or shortstop, but I feel great.”
There is also this:
Sounds to me like Burger is big-league ready. He first needs to get reps at a high-level affiliate. Ultimately, the White Sox weren’t willing to explore the idea of allowing him to develop anywhere other than within their organization.
Sheets is protected as well, which speaks to how the Sox view the 24-year-old. Sheets spoke to FutureSox in September and mentioned his versatility now in the outfield, as he worked independently throughout 2020 after being left off the team’s 60-man player pool.
“I’ve taken this time and trained a lot harder, changed training coaches and made a lot of steps forward to the point where I feel comfortable playing the outfield now,” Sheets shared in an exclusive interview. “I’ve gotten stronger, faster and more athletic to feel more comfortable out there to open up that option as well, so a lot of positives have come out of this time.”
Related to improvements in his offensive game, Sheets continued by saying:
I’ve made an adjustment with how to make my swing as fast as possible with how my body moves. I’ve met with some trainers to find out the areas where I lack. My hips have always been really tight so I’ve made an effort to loosen up my hips and loosen up my back and get to that extra power that I haven’t been able to tap into. I’m really excited going forward because I think I’ve made some really, really big steps and I’m excited to see it translate on the field here soon.
A typical 2020 season would have provided the 24-year-old an opportunity to excel in Charlotte before a potential Major League debut. As an addition to the 40-man roster, the White Sox, at the very least, consider Sheets a potential contributor at some point mid-to-late season in 2021 should he continue on his development path.
Note: Lenyn Sosa, Luis Mieses and Anderson Comas are up for Rule 5 eligibility, but they are unlikely to be selected come December.
Photo credit: Clinton Cole/FutureSox
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I believe that Sheets has a real shot in the outfield. He makes contact well for a big man and his power is enormous. If the Sox don’t go after Springer, I hope that Sheets can get a decent chance of being brought up to the bigs.